Suchergebnisse

It is asserted that low-income households could more easily accumulate assets if refundable tax credits were added through the personal income tax. An overview of the earned income tax credit's origins is presented to demonstrate its political implications for establishing an individual development account tax credit. It is subsequently argued that the creation of a tax credit for individual development accounts would complement the earned income tax credit; whereas the earned income tax credit encourages low-income individuals to work, it is claimed that the individual development account tax credit would persuade such individuals to save. Similarities in the functions of individual development account tax credits for poor American families & of individual retirement accounts for middle-class families are noted. A design for creating an individual development account tax credit that is based upon the individual development account section of the 1996 Welfare Reform Act is also presented. 6 Tables, 15 References. J. W. Parker

It is asserted that low-income households could more easily accumulate assets if refundable tax credits were added through the personal income tax. An overview of the earned income tax credit's origins is presented to demonstrate its political implications for establishing an individual development account tax credit. It is subsequently argued that the creation of a tax credit for individual development accounts would complement the earned income tax credit; whereas the earned income tax credit encourages low-income individuals to work, it is claimed that the individual development account tax credit would persuade such individuals to save. Similarities in the functions of individual development account tax credits for poor American families & of individual retirement accounts for middle-class families are noted. A design for creating an individual development account tax credit that is based upon the individual development account section of the 1996 Welfare Reform Act is also presented. 6 Tables, 15 References. J. W. Parker

This paper analyses the EU tax system and its main components qua conditions for the accession of the Croatia to the European Union as well as the current degree of adjustment of Croatian taxation regulations with the corresponding regulations in the EU. As a result of this analysis,
proposals for further procedures on the part of the creators of taxation policy in Croatia are made. After the tax reforms started in the 1990s, after the achievement of independence, the Croatian tax system was comparable with the tax systems of EU member countries. All the essential taxes correspond conceptually to the same kinds of taxes in EU countries. However, there is still space for further adjustment, above all in connection with value added tax, and it is desirable that this should be carried out as soon as possible. However, adjustments in the area of profit tax and adjustments of some rates of excise duties should be put off until the moment when they will have to be done for the sake of joining the Union, because the maintenance of the current situation, which is not in line with the provisions of European regulations, but nevertheless not in contravention of general rules regulating the area of taxation, is in the interests of
Croatia. In the area of the taxation of income no adjustment or coordination is needed, for members are allowed to settle the taxation of income in their countries independently, as long as the fundamental principles of the single market are not threatened (the free movement of goods, people, services and capital).

"Besides monitoring and threatening taxpayers with penalties, the cultivation of their attitudes towards taxation is a topic of immediate interest. The importance of tax morality, meaning taxpayers' honesty in taxation, has been confirmed in current research. However, this is nothing new. In 1927 the economist and sociologist Otto Veit published a fiscal sociological study on this very topic. Veit suggests an extensive economic approach of studying tax morality which is thoroughly based on philosophical and contemporary sociological concepts. In his approach, tax morality is an endogenous variable which depends on the behaviour of the individuals concerned. These individuals are tax legislators, tax administrators, and taxpayers. Tax morality is influenced not only by the technical design of a tax system and by law enforcement, e.g. monitoring, whistle blowing, and punishment, but also by social, political, and cultural factors. In this article, Veit and his work on tax morality are presented. Firstly, Veit will be introduced as a fiscal sociologist. Then, his approach of studying tax morality and its philosophical and sociological foundation will be explained. Finally, conformity with Schmölders' approach in the 1950s and 1960s and with very current research on tax morality will be demonstrated. It is the basic message of this article that some of Veit's ideas are of immediate relevance and worth making use of." (author's abstract)

"First, the originality of the cameralist approach which crosscuts modem understandings of fundamental paradigmatic differences is pointed out. Second, the background of Justi's ethical, non-materialist utopia without greed and luxury in his moral-philosophical writings is presented. Third, Justi's System des Finanzwesens is analyzed. Besides his first best system of a Platonic republic his proposal to introduce an educational Veblen tax to fundamentally revolutionize society and his third best tax system with the four main taxes of demesnes (auctioning), regalia (run by the state), Akzisen (which he in principle rejected) and his prime tax on profits are presented." (author's abstract)

Explores the development of 1990s US antipoverty programs. A quick look at the contextual factors of economic performance, public opinion, & population subgroup poverty trends is followed by a discussion of the impact of (pre)taxes & (pre)transfers on poverty. Against this backdrop, the safety net, comprising social insurance & means-tested transfers, is detailed. Focus turns to the degree to which tax & transfer programs alleviate poverty, updating Daniel Weinberg (eg, 1991) & addressing four questions: the size of the poverty gap & its change since 1979; the effectiveness of programs to fill that gap; shifts in tax & transfer program effectiveness over time; & differential policy effects across the elderly, one- & two-parent families, & childless families. Program impact on labor supply, saving, & family formation is also considered. It is found that the tax & transfer system has measurable effects on low-income family behavior; a positive relationship between post-tax wage rates & labor force participation is revealed. It is argued that policy developments hinge on welfare reform lessons: (1) Benefits will continue to be connected to responsibility. (2) A diminution of support for social insurance & the disabled is unlikely. (3) Fiscal climate (ie, deficits) drives antipoverty spending. Opinions on the direction of the policy debate are offered. 3 Tables, 8 Figures, 1 Appendix. J. Zendejas

Explores the development of 1990s US antipoverty programs. A quick look at the contextual factors of economic performance, public opinion, & population subgroup poverty trends is followed by a discussion of the impact of (pre)taxes & (pre)transfers on poverty. Against this backdrop, the safety net, comprising social insurance & means-tested transfers, is detailed. Focus turns to the degree to which tax & transfer programs alleviate poverty, updating Daniel Weinberg (eg, 1991) & addressing four questions: the size of the poverty gap & its change since 1979; the effectiveness of programs to fill that gap; shifts in tax & transfer program effectiveness over time; & differential policy effects across the elderly, one- & two-parent families, & childless families. Program impact on labor supply, saving, & family formation is also considered. It is found that the tax & transfer system has measurable effects on low-income family behavior; a positive relationship between post-tax wage rates & labor force participation is revealed. It is argued that policy developments hinge on welfare reform lessons: (1) Benefits will continue to be connected to responsibility. (2) A diminution of support for social insurance & the disabled is unlikely. (3) Fiscal climate (ie, deficits) drives antipoverty spending. Opinions on the direction of the policy debate are offered. 3 Tables, 8 Figures, 1 Appendix. J. Zendejas

Conditions that render political corruption detrimental to governmental efficiency & legitimacy are examined. An overview of research illustrates that the magnitude of corruption's harmful effects remains uncertain. Cases of low-level corruption (eg, granting licenses to unqualified individuals) highlight the different efficiency costs of corrupt behavior; it is asserted that corrupt acts whose only cost is illegality should be legalized. Frank Flatters & W. Bentley MacLeod's (1995) contention that the public should tolerate corrupt acts involving tax collection is questioned. Additional attention is dedicated to determining the costs of high-level corruption (eg, accepting bribes before granting major contracts) & to investigating whether high-level corruption engenders capital flight. Two reasons for not tolerating bribes designed to overcome inefficient laws & overwhelming taxes are presented (eg, companies may subsequently make payoffs to overcome necessary laws & taxes). 40 References. J. W. Parker

Investigates the impacts on unemployment of state interventions in the labor market via taxes & transfer payments, highlighting impacts on work incentives/income maintenance. The European tax benefit model, EUROMOD, is used to analyze distributions of replacement rates -- the degree to which an individual/household standard of living while employed is maintained during unemployment -- in 4 countries -- Denmark, France, Spain, & the UK -- with different welfare state systems. Factors that influence replacement rates are considered, comparing different demographic groups & income sources. 6 Tables, 1 Figure. K. Hyatt Stewart

Data collected as part of the International Social Survey Program, 1991/92, in GB, the US, & Sweden (N = 56% response rate from 1,920 adult citizens, 84% of 1,517, & 63% of 1,453, respectively) are drawn on to compare public attitudes toward the welfare state & its policies in each country, particularly regarding personal taxation in support of welfare services. The three welfare regimes & the characteristics of their tax systems are described, & public attitudes toward income taxation & redistribution are analyzed as a function of social stratification, specifically, along the lines of education, income, & occupational classification. Though general cross-cultural similarities toward progressive taxation are revealed in the aggregate, there is greater variation in terms of the distribution of taxes & government redistribution. 6 Tables, 4 Appendixes, 68 References. K. Hyatt Stewart